A user interface in accordance with the present invention is easier to use than prior art user interfaces designed to serve the same purpose, primarily due to click focusing and node aggregation mechanisms. Parameters can be adjusted to display only a few nodes, in order to facilitate exploration, or many (e.g., thousands) of nodes simultaneously, in order to facilitate an individual's understanding of a graph of nodes of information.
The user interface provides users the ability explore any collection of connected objects simultaneously from the hierarchical and the relational points of view. Bicontextual exploration broadens a user's perspective by increasing exposure to related information while maintaining context. Parameters can be adjusted to increase or decrease the extent of the relational context.